We got this visual from a reader about an hour-and-a-half ago showing a crash on the BQE near the Brooklyn Bridge. According to DNAinfo “a tractor-trailer crashed on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near the Brooklyn Bridge” at Sands and State streets. No injuries reported, but as of about an hour ago the eastbound lanes of the BQE at the bridge were closed, according to DNAinfo.

Late last month David Kennedy Cutler and Robert Hult made an intrepid voyage by foot underneath and alongside the entire length of the BQE, documenting the trip in photos. Here’s their statement of purpose:

“On February 17th and 20th, we walked the length of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway—from its origin at St. Michael’s cemetery above Woodside in Queens, to its terminus at the Battery Tunnel in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Stemming from recent debates over public space and its use, our goal was to analyze the experiential surrounds of the highway on foot by recording our observations as we
walked alongside and underneath the highway.”

Most of the photos are as picturesque as one would expect, but the two came across some unexpected treasures, like the trailer home shown above that’s been living under the expressway for a bunch of years now.Walking the BQE [Tumblr]

For the past two weeks the artist Ellie Balk has been painting underneath the BQE at Steuben Street and Park Avenue along with volunteers. Here’s the close-to finished product. The piece, called “Soundwaves,” was inspired after the artist collaborated with pianists who live close to the BQE. She drew the distance between their hands as they played Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and painted “sound waves,” layered to create an orchestra of lines, reflecting a landscape. Click through to see some close-up shots.Closing Bell: Making Noise Under the BQE [Brownstoner](more…)

The artist Ellie Balk has partnered with the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP) to bring a music landscape underneath the BQE. Called “Soundwaves,” the mural will be painted on the large wall on Park Avenue under the BQE, near Steuben Street in Clinton Hill. The artist collaborated with over 10 pianists who live close to the BQE, by drawing the distance between their hands as they play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. These “sound waves” will be layered to create an orchestra of lines, reflecting a landscape. Says Balk: “Residents living near this stretch of highway are confronted by the continuous cycle of the sound of bustling traffic. This mural will allow residents to see something beautiful and bright and to be inspired to hear the sounds of the highway in a new way.” Residents and local groups (ages eight and up) are invited to participate in the process by painting with the artist over a 3-week period, beginning on September 16th. If you are interested in volunteering, sign up here.

Those pretty renderings above show how a large swath of South Williamsburg might look if a proposal moves forward to cap the BQE trench running between South 3rd and 5th streets and create a park network that would serve local kids, according to a story in Architect’s Newspaper. The plan is the five-years-in-the-making brainchild of Councilwoman Diana Reyna; local firm dlandstudio is responsible for the design. More details: “This month, the firm will begin preparing cost-benefit and health analyses while creating a design model for public presentation. Existing park spaces flank the BQE from Broadway to Borinquen Place, and the plan’s conceptual drawings show these spaces united by a tree-lined lawn, a baseball diamond, and a soccer field. By enclosing the expressway between South 3rd and 5th streets, the team hopes to significantly reduce traffic pollution and noise, which is ten times that of Park Avenue.”Park Panacea over BQE Trench [Architect's Newspaper]Renderings by dlandstudio via Architect’s Newspaper.